Font Styles for Headstones

Paul RanceUpdated April 17, 2017

Sensitivity is the key to a tasteful headstone. The three most important things to consider for a headstone to look both impressive and tasteful are the stone itself, the inscription and the font. The font is often the last thing to be considered, but it is just as important as the stone and inscription in making a headstone a worthy tribute to a loved one.

Century Gothic

Century Gothic is a clear, tasteful font. A mixture of upper case and lower case letters works best together, as capital letters alone may result in a loss of aesthetic quality. It is also a font that looks more impressive the bigger it is. Aspects of this font include the bottom of the "T" and the "Y," in lower case, being straight-edged and not curling round. The lower case "T" also resembles a crucifix. Regarding the numbers of this font, there is a sizeable gap between the one and the nine in the number "19," but the overall effect of the font is still pleasing to the eyes.

Maiandra GD

Maiandra GD is a flamboyant font, but one which is still elegant and appropriate for a headstone. The lower case "L" and "Y" are slightly curved, as are most of the upper case letters. As with the Century Gothic font, the best combination is a mix of both lower case and upper case letters. The numbers of the Maiandra GD font give the slight impression of leaning to the right, but this doesn't affect the appearance of the font to a negative degree.

Palatino Linotype

A classy looking font, Palatino Linotype looks effective with any combination of upper case and lower case letters, and the letters complement the numbers beautifully. This font does have some distinguishing features. The cross on the "T," in lower case, is low and will be lower than the height of letters such as "A" and "E." The loop of upper case letters "P" and "R" also don't quite connect to the bar. However, Palatino Linotype looks graceful regardless of the arrangement of letters and numbers used.

Perpetua

The spacing between the letters of this font immediately catch the eye and it has a classical look. As with the Palatino Linotype font, all combinations of letters and numbers work well together. There is a slightly better look to this font when, for a person's name, an upper case letter is used for the first initial of the Christian and surname. Lower case should then be used for the rest of the name.

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About the Author

Paul Rance began writing in 1979 for small-press publications and was a columnist for the British small-press publication "Rattler's Tale." He has had articles and reviews published on many subjects, especially relating to music, cinema, TV, literature and poetry. He was educated to A Level standard at Rapid Results College in London.